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Blending
the rules: a blind tasting of top Australian reds
Session 10 of the Landmark Australia Tutorial
Andrew Caillard and Brian Croser
(right), leading the session
This session was
a Brian Croser special. He’d chosen 20 fine Australian reds which
we had to taste blind, and score on six different counts. This makes
quite a matrix, and I won’t go into it in detail. The point was to
assess how well these wines conveyed a sense of place, and whether
they represented authentic terroir wines, or winemaker wines where
much of the character came not from the vineyard, but from human
intervention (and this includes picking too late).
Tutorial
participants doing some papping
I’m going to
focus on the wines, so here are my tasting notes, as written, double
blind. It’s always interesting to see how famous wines fare when
they are tasted blind like this. Of course, there are drawbacks with
blind tasting: you can fail to understand a wine properly when you
taste without knowing its identity. But it is important, from time
to time, to challenge your preconceptions, and blind tasting does
this. After all, who could rate Penfolds Grange at 89/100 when
tasting it in view of the famous label? I may have got one or two of
the wines wrong here, but I’m pleased that my favourites, such as
Brokenwood’s Graveyard, Wendouree and Clonakilla performed well
tasted blind.
THE
WINES
2005
Plantagenet Shiraz, Mount Barker, Great Southern
(Tasted blind, note and score as written.) Sweet and rich with a
spicy nose. Very sweet lush red and black fruits. The palate is
sweet and intense with warm spicy fruit and a dry finish. Nice
freshness to the blueberry and plum fruit on the palate, although
this is quite a rich, sweet wine. 89/100
2006 Glaetzer
Amon Ra Shiraz, Barossa Valley
(Tasted blind, note and score as written.) Sweet, intense
liqueur-like black fruits nose is very smooth and ripe. Almost
Port-like. The palate is intense and lush with soft, dark,
concentrated fruit supported by rich spicy oak. Lush and ripe, and
well made if you like this style. 89/100
2005
Brokenwood Graveyard Vineyard Shiraz, Hunter Valley
(Tasted blind, note and score as written.) Very fresh, well
defined nose showing red fruit character and a touch of mint. Nice
definition here and some fresh, more savoury notes. The palate is
fresh and well defined with a supple character to the berryish red
fruits. Nice definition and structure. 92/100
2004 Torbreck
Run Rig Shiraz/Viognier, Barossa Valley
(Tasted blind, note and score as written.) Porty and highly
aromatic. Super-ripe nose with sweet blackberry jam notes. The
palate is super-concentrated, viscous and fat, with totally
over-the-top sweet fruit. It’s an extreme style. Porty and soft
with dead fruit. Apricot notes on the nose, too. Some will really
like it, but it’s not really my thing. 88/100
2002 Penfolds
Grange Shiraz/Cabernet Sauvignon, Multi-region South Australia
(Tasted blind, note and score as written.) Rich, sweet, ripe
autumnal nose with blackberries, smoke and spice notes. Intense and
sweet with some wood showing. The palate is superconcentrated and
lush with really dense, focused, spicy fruit. Sweet blackberry jam
character, balanced by spicy, woody notes. It’s really big, but
there’s a nice savoury edge here. 89/100
2005 Hardys
Eileen Hardy Shiraz, McLaren Vale
(Tasted blind, note and score as written.) Smooth, creamy,
blackcurrant fruit nose is ripe, lush and intense. The palate is
super-ripe with dense blackcurrant and blackberry fruit as well as
nice purity and definition. But there’s also an almost confected
creamy sweet character. Big, bold and intense, finishing hot. 89/100
2004 Henschke
Hill of Grace Shiraz, Eden Valley
(Tasted blind, note and score as written.) Very fresh, assertive
blackcurrant fruit nose is vibrant and lively with a subtly green,
gravelly edge. Lovely freshness. The palate is sweet with nice pure
blackcurrant fruit backed up by fresh, spicy structure. A really
nice sweet Cabernet-style wine. 93/100
2004 Clarendon
Hills Astralis Vineyard Shiraz (Syrah), McLaren Vale
(Tasted blind, note and score as written.) Sweet, pruney and
slightly baked jammy dark fruits on the nose. The palate is
super-sweet with bold blackcurrant and blackberry jam character.
Just a bit forced and jammy. Too sweet? 86/100
2007
Clonakilla Shiraz/Viognier, Canberra District
(Tasted blind, note and score as written.) Very sweet open
aromatic nose showing lovely dark fruits with an apricot lift.
Pretty aromatics. The palate shows lovely meaty, spicy dark fruits
with a hint of pepperiness. Great definition here with lovely
freshness. A very attractive Shiraz Viognier? 93/100
2005 Clayfield
Wines Shiraz, Grampians
(Tasted blind, note and score as written.) Dense, sweet and
spicy with awkwardly high acidity. A big, ripe, sweet fruity wine
with a disconnect between the development of the fruit and the
acidic finish. Quite intense and dark with good structure. It’s
hard to judge: lovely fruit presence but perhaps pushed a bit too
far. 90/100
2006 Two Hands
Wines Bella's Garden Shiraz, Barossa Valley
(Tasted blind, note and score as written.) Very sweet, creamy
blackcurrant fruit nose with some nice freshness and fruit purity.
The palate is sweet and intense with dense vibrant red and black
fruits but extremely high acidity. Massive concentration here, but
the acid is hard to get past. 90/100
2005 Penfolds
Bin 389 Cabernet Sauvignon/Shiraz, Multi-region South Australia
(Tasted blind, note and score as written.) Very attractive fresh
blackcurrant nose with a gravelly edge. The palate has lovely pure,
fresh blackcurrant fruit with some nice grippy tannins and a lovely
gravelly finish. Classic Coonawarra? Lovely definition. 93/100
2005 Seppelts
St Peters Shiraz, Grampians
(Tasted blind, note and score as written.) Smooth, brooding dark
fruits nose with black cherries, blackberries and plums and a
liqueur-like edge. The palate is fresh and quite elegant with
attractive sweet fruit and good acidity. Fresh, supple and balanced,
finishing a little dry. 91/100
2005 Majella
Cabernet Sauvignon, Coonawarra
(Tasted blind, note and score as written.) Lovely sweet, intense
pure blackcurrant fruit nose with some dark, minerally, gravelly
notes. The palate is open and sweetly fruited with lovely density
and balance. Nice gravelly blackfruits over some grippy tannins.
Margaret River Cabernet? Beautiful. 94/100
2005 Cullen
Wines Diana Madeline Cabernet Sauvignon/Merlot, Margaret River
(Tasted blind, note and score as written.) Lush, smooth and
sweet with some very ripe fruit flavours and yet some firm grippy
tannins. Tastes like a very ripe wine given lots of extraction.
Firm, tannic wine. 87/100
2006 Balnaves
of Coonawarra The Tally Cabernet Sauvignon, Coonawarra
(Tasted blind, note and score as written.) Very ripe, sweet,
dark, brooding intense black fruits nose. The palate is rich, bold
and intense with lovely depth to the pure blackberry and
blackcurrant fruit. Big but delicious with great definition and
depth. A superb, sweetly fruited, powerful, structured wine. 94/100
2006 Woodlands
Reserve de la Cave Cabernet Franc, Margaret River
(Tasted blind, note and score as written.) Very distinctive
minty, green herby nose but with nice black and red fruit character.
Unusual – a bit green but delicious. The palate is concentrated,
supple, fresh and green with a herbal edge. A lovely, individual
style of wine. 93/100
2004 Moss Wood
Cabernet Sauvignon, Margaret River
(Tasted blind, note and score as written.) Sweet, pure, lush and
dark with a brooding gravelly edge to the rich fruit on the nose.
The palate is ripe with bold blackcurrant fruit. Very rich and
smooth but still with some structure. A big wine. Perhaps a little
forced? 90/100
2005 Wynns
Coonawarra Estate John Riddoch Cabernet Sauvignon, Coonawarra
(Tasted blind, note and score as written.) Lovely fresh, focused
sweet dark fruits with intense blackberry and blackcurrant
character. Rich and dense with lovely focus. Freshness and power
combined. Big yet balanced. 93/100
2002 Wendouree
Cabernet Sauvignon/Malbec, Clare Valley
(Tasted blind, note and score as written.) Iodine/black fruits
nose with a mineral edge to the blackberry and blackcurrant fruit.
Sweet yet savoury. The palate has high acidity and firm tannins.
Just lovely definition to the brooding black fruits. A complex,
balanced wine. 94/100
Landmark
Australia
 Introduction
Visiting
the Australian Wine Research Institute
Session
1 - Regional Classics
Session
2 - Riesling
Session
3 - Shiraz and Blends
Session
4 - Historical Perspective
Session
5 - Semillon, Sauvignon Blanc and Blends
Session
6 - Cabernet Sauvignon and Blends
Session
7 - An Alternative View
Session
8 - Chardonnay
Session
9 - Pinot Noir
Session
10 - Blending the rules
Session
11 - Sparkling
Session
12 - Fortified
Wines
tasted 06/09
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